2014 Art of Film Honoree, Marisa Tomei

Marisa Tomei continues to bridge the gap between rich, dramatic performances and smart, comedic turns. Whether working with large studios or independent houses, Marisa consistently brings her independent spirit to every project with which she is involved. Marisa won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mona Lisa Vito in My Cousin Vinny. Tomei subsequently earned Academy Awards nominations for her performances in In the Bedroom and The Wrestler.

Marisa can currently be seen in Ira Sach's independent film, Love is Strange, which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and screened as part of the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival lineup. Co-starring John Lithgow and Alfred Molina, the film chronicles the lives of an older gay couple forced to live apart shortly after taking their long over-due marriage vows. Under the direction of Adam Rapp, Marisa will next be seen in the independent drama, Loitering with Intent, opposite Michael Godere, Ivan Martin, Sam Rockwell and Brian Geraghty, among others. The film, which centers on struggling actors who attempt to write a screenplay amid assorted distractions, premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. Tomei also recently wrapped production on a number of upcoming feature films ­Marc Lawrence's forthcoming romantic comedy, The Rewrite, opposite Hugh Grant, Judd Apatow's Trainwreck, alongside Amy Schumer, Tilda Swinton, Bill Hader and Daniel Radcliff, and Lionsgate's Spare Parts, co-starring George Lopez and Jamie Lee Curtis.

On the silver screen, Marisa has tackled a diverse range of roles including Alice Simmons in 20th Century Fox's Parental Guidance with Billy Crystal and Bette Midler, Kate Taffety in Warner Bros.' Crazy, Stupid, Love, alongside Steve Carell and Julianne Moore, Ida Horowicz in Columbia Pictures' Ides of March with George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ryan Gosling, and Maggie McPherson, opposite Matthew McConaughey, in Lionsgate's The Lincoln Lawyer. Other notable film credits include Cyrus, Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, What Women Want, Happy
Accidents, Anger Management, Slums of Beverly Hills, Welcome to Sarajevo, Unhook the Stars, Four Rooms, The Paper and Chaplin, among many others.

Marisa traveled to Ethiopia to direct a short film based on the Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn's book Half the Sky. The film, which was also her directorial debut, focuses on a thirteen year old girl's struggle with the institutionalized oppression of women in Ethiopia.

A veteran of the theater, Marisa returned to the stage in 2014 as Pony Jones in the Broadway production of Will Eno's The Realistic Joneses at the Lyceum Theatre. Directed by Sam Gold and also starring Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall and Tracy Letts, the play details the lives of two suburban couples who share more than just a surname. Marisa and the cast won the 2014 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. Tomei previously starred in the Broadway production of Caryl Churchill's now-classic feminist drama, Top Girls, earning a Drama Desk Award nomination for her work. Additionally, she also appeared onstage in the title role of Oscar Wilde's Salome, opposite Al Pacino at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. In 2011, Marisa joined Frank Whaley in the New Group's revival of Wallace Shawn's 1979 play, Marie and Bruce, at the Acorn Theater. Among her other theater credits include Will Eno's Oh! The Humanity and Other Good Intentions, Beirut, Design for Living, Nobel Prize-winning playwright Dario Fo's We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!, Clifford Odets' Waiting for Lefty and Rocket to the Moon, both directed by Joanne
Woodward, Demonology, Dark Rapture, Slavs!, The Comedy of Errors, The Summer Winds, The Rose Tattoo, What the Butler Saw and Daughters. Tomei is a founding member of the Naked Angels Theater Company in New York City.